There is an increasing need to protect electronic equipment against radiated and conducted electromagnetic interference. While shielding is the main means for protecting against radiated EMI, some equipment requires extensive and complex filtered circuits combined with shielding to meet standards required by industry and/or various government agencies. There is an increasing need, therefore, for means to limit the frequency content of information signals to prevent radiation and thereby reduce the need for elaborate shielding. This basic concept is known as "wave shaping" and it is accomplished by filtering a signal such that the shape of the fundamental signal is noticeably altered. By slowing down the rise time, the high frequency content of a signal is greatly reduced, which results in less radiation. The wave shaping is achieved by providing capacitance, inductance, and/or resistance, or combinations thereof, in series with the signal. Currently, wave shaping capability is provided by mounting respective leaded components on a printed circuit board and attaching the printed circuit board to a connector. This method results in a relatively large package for the wave shaping device.
It is desirable to have a means for accomplishing wave shaping that may be packaged inside the connector rather than external to the connector. It is also desirable to have a means for integrating one or more active or passive electrical components in series along the circuit path of an individual electrical terminal, which may then be included in a connector package. Furthermore, it is desirable to eliminate problems generally associated with leaded components. In addition it is desirable to have a more cost effective method for achieving wave shaping.